Reading through John chapter 12 this week, I came across a scripture that I thought was very significant. Verses 35 and 36 read, "Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them."
This analogy of light and dark is often used in the church. Metaphorically, we have to walk in the darkness occasionally and put our trust in the Lord to guide us.
I remember going hiking on Mt. St. Helens when I was younger. The hike was beautiful, on the other side of the mountain from where the famous eruption occurred in 1980. On the way home we decided to take a little detour and hike through the caves that served as the passageway through which the explosion passed. The caves were massive and cold, cutting out all sources of light from above. The only light we had were the flashlights in our hands. At one point, our guide asked us to turn off our flashlights. As I sat there in the cold blackness an overwhelming fear came over me and I began to tremble. I had a dark and eery feeling that I had never felt before and I begged my dad to turn his light back on. I was starving for the light... for it's comfort and source of clarity and direction. Without it I felt empty and alone and desperate. On our way out I had the thought that no wonder we, in the church, call hell "Outer Darkness". The most terrifying thing I could imagine would be far from the light.
To be "children of light" as Christ mentions is to allow the atonement into our life, to seek it and let ourselves become his children because he is the way, the truth and the light. The light of Christ is in each person on this earth, and we are all therefore capable of becoming his children if we are willing to have his light penetrate the dark corners of our lives.